“The wheel is an extension of the foot, the book is an extension of the eye, clothing, an extension of the skin, electric circuitry, an extension of the central nervous system.”
— The Medium is The Massage, Marshall McLuhan

When Apple’s iPhone was introduced in early 2007, the multi-touch capabilities of the device thrilled customers and raised expectations for such technologies in a broad range of electronic gadgets for consumers. The growing demand for new multi-touch features in smartphone, tablet and e-reader devices today has given rise to the convenience of touch screen technology.

Even as more and more devices incorporate touch screens, technology developers, component integrators and device manufacturers are continuing their work to deliver superior functionality at a much lower price
Kodak – one of those technology developers – has been working with several partners to provide touch screen technologies that offer superior performance, enhanced features and a compelling customer experience.
One example is a “patterning” technology that allows a conductive circuit to be etched onto the surface of a polythiophene polymer (PEDOT) film in a way that makes the circuit completely invisible.

Recently, Kodak announced that its ongoing work with Heraeus to perfect the process had resulted in a significant technological breakthrough – a projected capacitive touch panel with completely invisible patterns.
At the 2011 IDTechEx Printed Electronics Conference last December, Kodak and Heraeus demonstrated the new technology for the first time, in the form of a resistive touch screen display.

The new touch screen received a very positive response. Some industry veterans said that the transparency and touch sensitivity made it the best resistive touch panel they had ever seen!
It’s just a first step, but the new technology that Kodak is helping develop marks a possible shift in the way touch screen displays for computers, smart phones and other electronic devices will be manufactured in the future.

The potential is huge. Just about any technology in which a person needs to interact with an electronic or a mechanical device could gain a real advantage by adopting touch screen technology, and there will undoubtedly be applications enabled by this technology that we haven’t even imagined yet!